Annealing apparatus



June 14, 1932. P. E. HUNTER ANNEALING APP ARATUS Filed May 11, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet June 14, 1932. P. E. HUNTER ANNE'ALING APPARATUS Filed May 11 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 M INVENTO 6 57 mm H n l I a J I l I l I I l l mm .5 JV mm Patented June 14, 1932 PERCY n. nuifrna, or r'rr'rsiiuneii, snwsmvima nnnnamne Application filed May 11,

My invention relates to annealing apparatus, and more particularly to a base and its framework, for supporting annealing boxes.

I One object of my invention is to provide an E8 annealing base structure of such form that it is of light weight compared to cast steel structures and which nevertheless is possessed of great strength.

Another object of my invention is to pro- 10 vide a structure of the character referred to of such formthat the tendency toward distortion through differences intemperature is minimized.

A further object of my invention is to provide a tray or similar support for annealing boxes that is of thinner wall thickness than various types heretofore employed, whereby there is more effective and uniform heating of the interior of an annealing box placed on said tray.

Still another object of my invention is to provide an annealing base structure of generally simplified and improved form.

Some of the forms which my invention may take are shown in' the accompanying drawings wherein Figure 1 is a plan View of one structure; Fig. 2 is a fragmentary side elevationalview thereof, on an enlarged scale; Fig. 3 is a view taken'on the line TIL-III of Fig. 1 Fig. 4 is a view taken on the line IV'IV of Fig. 2; Figs. 5 and 6 are views taken'on the lines VV and VIVI, respectively,of Fig. 1, and-Fig. 7 is a View similar to Fig. 4, but showing a modification. The base structure is intended to be employed with an annealing box 10 that is of course used in an inverted positionto enclose a pack of sheets or other articles carried by the base during the heat-treatment thereof. The edge of the box 10 is provided wlth a channel-like rim portion 11 that extends into asand-containing trough 12, the sand being employed'to efiect a seal between the interior of the box and the heated'ga'ses surrounding the same. The annealing box may, of course, be of any well-known form.

Thebase structure is preferably formed of sheet metal, .various portions whereof are held in unitary relation by welding them together or in-any other suitable manner. The sheet APrARA'rUs 1931. Serial no. 536,476.

metal is preferably of an alloy material that is capable of withstanding high temperatures and has a greater coefficient of expansion than ordinary sheet steel. 1 I

The under-frame of the base is provided with longitudinally-extending members 14 of I-beam form in cross section, but which may be suitably formed by welding two channel members back to back, as show more clearly in Fig. 3. Cross beams 15 of channel form are welded to the longitudinalbeams 14 at their points of juncture therewith. Thus, asshown more clearly in Figs. 2 and 3, the longitudinally-extending beams 14 have their webs punched out as indicated at 16 and the cross beams 15 are slid into place transversely of the base by inserting them through, these openings 16. The cross beams are then raised to bring their upper sides flush with the up per sides of the longitudinal beams, the cross beams 15 having cut-out portions 17, as shown in Fig. 5, for receiving the flanges of the beams 14. v The beams 15 are welded or otherwise connected to the beams 14 along their lines, of contact where the beams cross one another. The beams 15 could be made in short sections with their ends fastened to the sides of the beams 14.- In order tostifl'en the assembled cross beams and longitudinal beams, gusset plates '18 (Figs. 3 and 4') are welded at their bottom and vertical edges to the lower flange and the web of the longitudinal beam 14, and the sides of these plates 18 are welded to the backs of the cross beams or channels 15.

Channel-like or inverted U shaped plates 19 have flange portions welded to the undersides of the longitudinal beams and extend o approximatelythe full length of the structure. These channel plates may serve as runways for balls 20 upon which the table or base may be rolled into and out of a'furnace, the balls 20 being employed instead of wheels. A drag bar 22 is of loop form at its outer end and has its inner ends 23'welded to the two intermediate longitudinal beams. A strut bar 24 is secured to these beams ata point adjacent to the ends 23. The drag bar 3 is, of course, utilized to pull and push the base from place to place.

In order to permit of convenient lifting and transporting of the base by crane hooks or the like, pairs of channels 26 (Figs. 1 and 4), are welded at their ends to adjacent sides of two cross beams 15, a plate 27 being welded to the bottoms of the channels 26. Bars or plates 28 are welded within each of the channel members 26 to stiffen the same and prevent bending or buckling of the channels when lifting force is imposed against the underside of the plate 27. Filler plates 29 are interposed between the upper sides of the channels 26 and the sand trough 12.

Gusset plates 18a are welded at their outer edges to the adjacent channel 26 and at their inner and lower edges to the longitudinal beams, as shown more clearly in Figs. 2 and 1.

A pan or load-supporting tray 30 is provided with a series of lugs 31 whose free ends are bent or offset downwardly to form grooves for the reception of flanges of I- beams 14:, as shown more clearly in Figs. 1 and 3, these lugs being welded to the tray and serving to hold it down and against shifting tranversely of the under-frame, but nevertheless permitting expansive and contractive movements of the tray 'ith respect to the under-frame. Stop lugs 32 are weld-- ed to the underside of the tray shown more clearly in Figs. 1 and 6 to prevent shifting of the tray longitudinally of the underframe.

The edges of the tray are bent over to form grooves or channels for the reception of the upturned inner edges 3 of the sand trough 12, clearance being provided between the edges 34 and the tray 30, so that the tray and the sand trough may expand and contract independently of one another. A series of plates 35 are welded edgewise to the bottom of the sand tray, so that they will support the cover 10 in spaced relation to said bottom and permit sand to be pushed to the inner side of the box wall in order that the lower edge of the box will be completely buried in sand to provide the necessary air seal. Webs or gussets are welded to the bottom and the outer wall of the sand trough to stifi'en the same.

The sand trough is made in vertically-divided sections, each of which may expand and contract relative to one another, the sections being bridged by plates 38, as shown more clearly in Figs. 3 and 5. These plates are of hook form at their outer end to maintain the adjacent ends of two trough sections in alinement, and their inner ends are turned upwardly against the inner side of the trough sections, in order to bridge the spaces between the end sections throughout their entire width. Each of the plates 38 may be welded or other-wise secured to one of the trough sections with which it is associated.

Referring now to Fig. 7 I show a structure somewhat similar to that of the other figures, the principal difference being in the substitution of a wheel 40 for the balls 20. The wheels 40 are journalled in suitable bearings formed in the lower edges of two of longitudinal beams 41, whose ends are welded to two cross beams 150;. Since the beams 15a do not extend through the beams 14a and 41, and therefore are of short length relative to the beams 14;, I provide tie rods or bars 42 which are welded at their ends to the extremity of the beams 15a.

' It will be seen that throughout the major portion of the bottom of the tray, namely at the point-s between the beams, there is only a single thickness of sheet metal through which the heat has to be transmitted to the interior of the annealing box. Therefore, there are better and more uniform heating conditions within the box than would be the case if the table or tray were of considerably greater thickness.

It will therefore be seen that I provide annealing apparatus wherein the tray and the supporting runways for the rollers are formed as a unitary part of the tray structure, including the provision of a sand seal for the edges of the box, without the necessity of providing a separate bottom member.

I claim as my invention Q 1. Annealing apparatus comprising a tray portion for supporting articles to be annealed, and a trough portion for supporting an annealing box, one of said portions having its edges bent in vertical directions to form a groove, and the other portion having its edge bent to form a flange fitting within said groove.

2. Annealing apparatus comprising a tray portion for supporting articles to be annealed, and a trough portion for supporting an annealing box, one of said portions having its edges bent in vertical directions to form a groove, and the other portion having its edge bent to form a flange fitting within said groove, clearance bein v provided between said edgesto permit relative expansive and contractive movements of said members.

3. Annealing apparatus comprising a tray portion for supporting articles to be annealed, and a troughportion for supporting an annealing boX, one of said portions raving its edges bent in vertical directions to form a groove, and the other portion having its edge bent to form flanges fitting within said groove, the trough portion being divided into sections along transverse lines to permit expansion and contraction of the sections inde pendently of one another.

4L. Annealing apparatus comprising a tray portion for supporting articles to be annealed, a trough portion for supporting an annealing box, one of said portions having its edges bent in vertical directions to form a groove, and the other portion having its edge bent to form flanges fitting within said groove, the trough portion being divided into sections along transverse lines to permit expansion and contraction of the sections independently of one another, and bridging plates overlying the lines of division between the trough sections.

5. Annealing apparatus comprising a tray portion for supporting articles to be annealed, a trough portion for supporting an annealing box, one of said portions having its edges bent in vertical directions to form a groove, and the other portion having its edges bent to form flanges fitting within said groove, the trough portion being divided into sections along transverse lines to permit expansion and contraction of the sections independently of one another, and bridging plates overlying the lines of division between said trough sections, the outer edges of the plates being bent to partially embrace the outer edges of two adjacent trough sections.

6. Annealing apparatus comprising a tray portion for supporting articles to be annealed, a trough portion for supporting an annealing box, one of .said portions having its edges bent in vertical directions to form a groove, and the other portion having its edge bent to form flanges fitting within said groove, the trough portion being divided into sections along transverse lines to permit expansion and contraction of the sections independently of one another, and bridging plates overlying the lines of division between said cross sections, the outer edges of the plates being bent to partially embrace the outer edges of two adjacent trough sections, and the inner edges of said plates extending into the said groove.

7. Annealing apparatus comprising a tray for supporting articles to be annealed, a trough disposed in proximity to the said tray and adapted to receive the lower edge of an annealing box, and spacer strips in said trough for supporting the edge of the annealing box in spaced relation to the bottom of the trough.

8. Annealing apparatus comprising a tray for supporting articles to be annealed, a trough disposed in proximity to the said tray and adapted to receive the lower edge of an annealing box, and spacer strips in said trough for supporting the edgeof the annealing box in spaced relation to the bottom of the trough, the said strips extending transversely of the trough and being secured to the bottom and one side thereof. 9. Annealing apparatus comprising a tray, a sand trough, and means for maintaining the trough and the tray in assembled relation, but permitting relative expansive and con tractive movements thereof.

10. Annealing apparatus comprising a tray, a sand trough, and means bridging the 11. Annealing apparatus comprising 'a tray having its edges bent to inverted channel form and asand trough having its inner edges extending into the said channel."

a 12. Annealing apparatus comprising a frame,'a tray mounted on said frame and having downwardly-extending lugs interengaging with the frame, clearance being provided between the said lugs and the frame, to permit expansivemovements of the tray in certain directions independently of the frame.

13. Annealing apparatus comprising a frame, a tray, means for maintaining the tray in assembled relation on said frame, a troughsupported by said frame, and interengaging means between the trough and the tray for maintaining the-trough in position on the frame.

14. Annealing apparatus comprising a frame, a tray, means for maintaining the tray in position on said frame, a trough supported by said frame, and inter-engaging means between the trough and the trayfcr maintaining the trough in position on the frame, the last-named means permitting relative expansive and contractive movements of the trough and'the tray. 7

15. Annealing apparatus comprising a frame, a tray, means for maintaining the tray in position on said frame, a trough supported by said frame, and inter-engaging means be tween the trough and the tray for maintaining the trough in position on the frame, the trough being divided into sections along transverse lines.

16. Annealing apparatus comprising a frame, a tray member, a trough member, means for maintaining one of said members in position upon the frame, and inter-engaging means between the said members for maintaining the other member in position upon the frame.

17 Annealing apparatus comprising a frame, a tray member, a trough member, means for maintaining one of said members in position upon the frame, and inter-engaging means between the said members for maintaining the other member in position upon the frame, and arranged to permit relative expansive and contractive movements of said members.

18. A framework for supporting annealing boxes and the like, comprising a set of .longitudinally-extending beams, and a set of transversely-extending beams, each set of beams being substantially continuous, and the respective'beams of the two sets being cut away at their points of intersection to permit them to lie in a common plane.

19. A framework for supporting annealing boxes and the like, comprising a set of longitudinally-extending beams, and a set of transversely-extending beams, each set of beams bein substantially continuous, and the respective beams of the two sets being cut away at their points of intersection to permit them to lie in a common plane, the beams being of sheet metal and connected together at their points of contact.

20. Tray structure for annealing boxes, comprising a tray member, an under-frame therefor composed of longitudinally-extends ing beams, and channel members extending parallel to the beams and secured at their edges thereto, the channel members being mounted in inverted position to serve as runways for anti-friction rollers.

21. Tray structure for annealing boxes, comprising a tray member, an undertrame for the tray having beams extending longitudinally thereof, and channel members secured at their edges to the undersides of the beams, the channels being in inverted position and serving as runways for anti-friction rollers.

22. Tray structure for annealing boxes and the like, comprising a tray, an underframe therefor, the said underframe being provided with beams extending longitudinally thereof, and means on said beams for engaging With anti-friction members.

23. Annealing apparatus comprising a tray, a sand trough, and means for maintaining the trough and the tray in assembled relation, but permitting relative expansive and contractive movements thereof, and means connected with the tray for maintaining antifriction supporting members in operative relation thereto.

In testimony whereof I, the said PERCY E. HUNTER, have hereunto set my hand.

PERCY E. HUNTER. 

